In the United States, Latinas are underrepresented in obtaining PhDs that lead to high level professional careers and academia. This may be due, in part, to patriarchal academic institutions and approaches that have historically devalued the cultural experiences and identities of marginalized populations, including Latinas in higher education. However, research suggests that mentorship can support Latinas in successfully obtaining PhDs and disrupt institutional norms and practices. Framed by LatCrit, Mestiza Consciousness, and Mujerista Mentoring, this study sheds light on the experiences of twenty-four Latinas who earned PhDs-with or without mentors during their doctoral journeys. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the role of mentorship for Latinas who obtained PhDs while negotiating their cultural or gender identities. A qualitative research design using Testimonio methodology was used to reposition Latinas with PhDs as central to the analysis. While each Doctora’s experience was unique, common themes across Testimonios included navigational barriers, identity through mentorship and scholar familia, cultural and gender assets, and feminist energy. These themes reflected tensions and barriers experienced through racism, sexism, classism, and ableism that guide normative academic research. These findings are less surprising if we consider the critical role of mentorship in these ways: funding, finding postdoctoral positions in higher education, providing emotional support along with cultural competency, and being in their scholar familia circle. The stories of these successful Latinas add to the existing research by exposing their experiences and how they claimed space grounded in their community and found the right “tribe” to maintain their cultural and gender identity while obtaining a PhD.
","abstract_html":"<p>In the United States, Latinas are underrepresented in obtaining PhDs that lead to high level professional careers and academia. This may be due, in part, to patriarchal academic institutions and approaches that have historically devalued the cultural experiences and identities of marginalized populations, including Latinas in higher education. However, research suggests that mentorship can support Latinas in successfully obtaining PhDs and disrupt institutional norms and practices. Framed by LatCrit, Mestiza Consciousness, and Mujerista Mentoring, this study sheds light on the experiences of twenty-four Latinas who earned PhDs-with or without mentors during their doctoral journeys. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the role of mentorship for Latinas who obtained PhDs while negotiating their cultural or gender identities. A qualitative research design using Testimonio methodology was used to reposition Latinas with PhDs as central to the analysis. While each Doctora’s experience was unique, common themes across Testimonios included navigational barriers, identity through mentorship and scholar familia, cultural and gender assets, and feminist energy. These themes reflected tensions and barriers experienced through racism, sexism, classism, and ableism that guide normative academic research. These findings are less surprising if we consider the critical role of mentorship in these ways: funding, finding postdoctoral positions in higher education, providing emotional support along with cultural competency, and being in their scholar familia circle. The stories of these successful Latinas add to the existing research by exposing their experiences and how they claimed space grounded in their community and found the right “tribe” to maintain their cultural and gender identity while obtaining a PhD.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rangel, Jacqueline"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Education, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Claudia Bermúdez","Thomas Luschei"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:49Z","subjects":["Doctorate","LatCrit","Latina","Mentorship","Scholar Familia","Testimonios","Education","Higher Education","Women's Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/796","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Claudia Bermúdez","Thomas Luschei"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rangel, Jacqueline"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-06-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Education, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Doctorate","LatCrit","Latina","Mentorship","Scholar Familia","Testimonios","Education","Higher Education","Women's Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/796"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the United States, Latinas are underrepresented in obtaining PhDs that lead to high level professional careers and academia. This may be due, in part, to patriarchal academic institutions and approaches that have historically devalued the cultural experiences and identities of marginalized populations, including Latinas in higher education. However, research suggests that mentorship can support Latinas in successfully obtaining PhDs and disrupt institutional norms and practices. Framed by LatCrit, Mestiza Consciousness, and Mujerista Mentoring, this study sheds light on the experiences of twenty-four Latinas who earned PhDs-with or without mentors during their doctoral journeys. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the role of mentorship for Latinas who obtained PhDs while negotiating their cultural or gender identities. A qualitative research design using Testimonio methodology was used to reposition Latinas with PhDs as central to the analysis. While each Doctora’s experience was unique, common themes across Testimonios included navigational barriers, identity through mentorship and scholar familia, cultural and gender assets, and feminist energy. These themes reflected tensions and barriers experienced through racism, sexism, classism, and ableism that guide normative academic research. These findings are less surprising if we consider the critical role of mentorship in these ways: funding, finding postdoctoral positions in higher education, providing emotional support along with cultural competency, and being in their scholar familia circle. The stories of these successful Latinas add to the existing research by exposing their experiences and how they claimed space grounded in their community and found the right “tribe” to maintain their cultural and gender identity while obtaining a PhD.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mentoring Latinas on Doctoral Journeys: Testimonios of Cultural and Gender Identity"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Claudia Bermúdez","Thomas Luschei"],"dc:creator":["Rangel, Jacqueline"],"dc:date.available":["2024-06-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the United States, Latinas are underrepresented in obtaining PhDs that lead to high level professional careers and academia. This may be due, in part, to patriarchal academic institutions and approaches that have historically devalued the cultural experiences and identities of marginalized populations, including Latinas in higher education. However, research suggests that mentorship can support Latinas in successfully obtaining PhDs and disrupt institutional norms and practices. Framed by LatCrit, Mestiza Consciousness, and Mujerista Mentoring, this study sheds light on the experiences of twenty-four Latinas who earned PhDs-with or without mentors during their doctoral journeys. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand the role of mentorship for Latinas who obtained PhDs while negotiating their cultural or gender identities. A qualitative research design using Testimonio methodology was used to reposition Latinas with PhDs as central to the analysis. While each Doctora’s experience was unique, common themes across Testimonios included navigational barriers, identity through mentorship and scholar familia, cultural and gender assets, and feminist energy. These themes reflected tensions and barriers experienced through racism, sexism, classism, and ableism that guide normative academic research. These findings are less surprising if we consider the critical role of mentorship in these ways: funding, finding postdoctoral positions in higher education, providing emotional support along with cultural competency, and being in their scholar familia circle. The stories of these successful Latinas add to the existing research by exposing their experiences and how they claimed space grounded in their community and found the right “tribe” to maintain their cultural and gender identity while obtaining a PhD.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/796"],"dc:subject":["Doctorate","LatCrit","Latina","Mentorship","Scholar Familia","Testimonios","Education","Higher Education","Women's Studies"],"dc:title":["Mentoring Latinas on Doctoral Journeys: Testimonios of Cultural and Gender Identity"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Education, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:49Z"}